APRIL 2024 21 Because of lowered water levels in the Panama Canal’s Gatun Lake, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) slowed down the number of vessels that could pass through its locks in December 2023. The low water levels even forced the Panama Canal Authority to hold auctions to determine which ships could pass through its locks—not even first come, first served. These low water levels in the canal were caused by the drought affecting the feeder source, Lake Gatun. The artificially created lake—then the largest in the world—provides water to the Panama Canal’s complex lock systems. It was created in 1913 by damming the Chagres River allowing it to provide the millions of litres of water necessary to operate its locks each time a ship passes through. Normally, the canal would allow 36 ships per day to pass through it. But with the drought affecting water levels, it dropped to 22 ships a day this past December. As of January 2024, the number of ships passing through did increase slightly to 24 a day. Will canal traffic improve soon? Although Panama has just entered a dry season, it is expected to see relief by the end of April 2024. If we do the math, from the beginning of 2024 through the end of April, the Panama Canal will move 121 fewer vessels across it, relative to the number moved in a normal year. Due to their contracts, containerships have priority whenever they need to cross the Panama Canal, which is a kick in the teeth for vessels carrying wet bulk and dry bulk goods such as grain, corn, and other agricultural products. However, not every vessel is floating about waiting for its lucky number to be called. With the necessity of getting Canadian and US exports of corn, soybeans, and grains to hungry customers, some ships are finding alternate routes to the Panama Canal by going through the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. Like the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway located in Egypt. It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. For those opting to take the Suez Canal route, it adds 18 days of travel each way, while going down and around the Cape of Good Hope adds 22 days. Better late than never—even if it means dollar penalties for arriving late are applied. According to a November 2023 CNBC news article, the ACP fears that the current El Niño weather event may be the worst the area has seen in recent history. Due to the drought, it is predicted that cuts to traffic through the Panama Canal will reduce regular traffic by over 40 percent. For the US, 40 percent of all its container traffic moves through the Panama Canal locks annually, equaling about US $270 billion in trade. Those Great Lakes Long a crossword puzzle clue, “HOMES” is the acronym for the five Great Lakes of North America: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. Excluding Lake Michigan, which is wholly within the US, the other four share waters between the US and Canada. These lakes connect the central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway, forming one of the longest deep-draft navigational systems on Earth. These freshwater lakes are the second-largest by total volume, containing 21 percent of the planet’s surface freshwater by volume. The total surface area is 244,106 km2, and the total volume—measured at the low water datum—is 22,671 km3. This bi-national waterway between the US and Canada has been the foundation of the region’s economy for over 200 years. Before railroads and highways, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River served as the primary transportation systems. Many of North America’s largest cities were established along the waterway as commerce flourished between their ports. Some of those ports include Québec City, Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Gatineau in the province of Québec, and Cornwall, Brockville, Ottawa, and Pembroke in Ontario. Nowadays, over 160 million tons of waterborne cargo are transported within the region or to overseas destinations. Within the Great Lakes, two factors affect their productivity: water levels and water temperature. The water level is defined as the height of the lake surface above sea level. Precipitation, snowmelt runoff, drought, evaporation rates, and people diverting or taking water for industrial uses affect water levels. Water temperature, however, is influenced by multiple factors, including the surrounding air temperature. When it’s hot outside, evaporation occurs. An increase in global temperature highlights the fact that we—the planet—are in the midst of a climate change.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc0MDI3